Don't You Dare Die, You Little Brat

That afternoon, Genma didn't go to Konoha Hospital with Shizune. Instead, he headed into the woods to train on his own.

First, he let the plant cells nourish his body.

It was a long process. Over the past two years, his body had indeed changed considerably.

At first, Genma had only been guessing based on how it felt. Now, however, he was one hundred percent certain that if he kept going, he would completely transform within two years at most. He wouldn't need Wood Release Chakra to use Wood Release anymore.

But it wasn't the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai formed by fusing the nature transformations of Earth Release and Water Release, either.

Instead, it was more like... a plant person?

"At the rate things are progressing, I should be able to complete the transformation in two years at most."

After eating his fill, Genma sent a Shadow Clone to work on mastering Lightning Flicker.

In other words, he used Lightning Release Chakra to activate every cell in his body.

From the surface-level skin cells to his muscle cells and bone cells, and then to his nerve cells... Genma had already started activating his nerve cells.

Of course, he left this dangerous work to his Shadow Clone, since damage to nerve cells would be a huge problem.

Even though his Yang Release was now powerful enough to heal without hand signs, he still didn't want to damage his nerve cells.

So he had to be very careful and let his Shadow Clone explore first.

Thus, although Genma had mainly based his Lightning Flicker on Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode, his approach was actually closer to the Lightning Flicker his teacher, Hatake Sakumo, had used.

He was simply using Lightning Release Chakra to activate his cells and increase his speed in every way, without tempering his body—or, more precisely, his cells—until he became a musclebound giant like the Raikage.

That way, his Shadow Clone could benefit from it.

Although a Shadow Clone was a physical duplicate, it couldn't undergo any physical changes.

Only techniques and experience could be transferred back to the original.

However, while his teacher Hatake Sakumo's Lightning Flicker was also very fast, it didn't go nearly as deep as Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

The former only went as far as the muscle cells. It didn't go any deeper, though even that greatly improved a person's reaction time.

But based on today's battle, Genma believed that although his teacher Hatake Sakumo was incredibly fast, he still couldn't match the Fourth Raikage of the future.

That was also why Genma had been developing Lightning Flicker for so long without finishing it.

Of course, the most important factor was the Setting Collection.

Once Genma had made some initial progress in developing Lightning Flicker, he could use Setting Values to modify its settings and take it further.

For now, he only needed to activate his nerve cells slightly and get off to a good start, saving a few Setting Values in the process.

After all, he hadn't gained any Setting Values in over a year.

After sending a Shadow Clone off to grind experience, Genma himself set out to further develop the illusion technique he'd been working on: Spider Binding.

The Magic: Spider Binding illusion had performed well in today's battle. It had directly immobilized his teacher Hatake Sakumo's Shadow Clone.

That was thanks to Genma's powerful Yin Release nature transformation and his immense chakra.

If it had been Orochimaru instead, Genma was confident that once he caught him in the illusion, even Orochimaru wouldn't be able to break free.

However, Genma also realized that the technique wasn't subtle enough.

Also, if an enemy noticed him preparing to cast it, they could easily escape his lock-on with the Body Flicker Technique.

Of course, illusions were meant to catch people off guard.

But if he could make it impossible to dodge, then there'd be no need to sneak around.

So he needed to keep developing it.

Its range had to be large, like Yakushi Kabuto's Temple of Nirvana Technique, which could blanket a wide area like a giant spider web. Anyone who didn't escape the area would be caught in the technique and immobilized.

"This should be combined with the Sensory Ninjutsu Thousand Branch Spirit Touch..."

Genma pondered to himself.

The illusion technique Magic: Spider Binding had actually been inspired by the Sensory Ninjutsu Thousand Branch Spirit Touch.

When Thousand Branch Spirit Touch spread out, it looked like a vast web of branches from a mental "viewpoint."

The range of the sensory field was limited by the amount of chakra, while its precision was limited by the control of that chakra.

Could he weave such a giant web with an illusion, so that anyone who touched it would be caught? Like prey entering the area covered by a spiderweb, they'd get stuck as soon as they touched it?

"No, it can't be passive. It needs to be active, triggered by me, the caster."

Genma thought of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. Sharingan illusions could also be laid in advance and triggered much later.

For example, Uchiha Itachi had placed an illusion on the Root Division ninja who was watching him long beforehand, only triggering it when they turned against each other.

This wasn't the Transcription Seal used to seal Mangekyo techniques.

"It's worth a try. This illusion still has room for further setting modifications."

Genma grew excited.

When he got home that evening, Genma was surprised to find that both his parents were there.

"Genma's home. Looks like you had a good day?"

Yu Fenglan poked his head out of the kitchen.

Then his mother, Ritsuka, appeared behind him with a spatula in hand. "Genma, go wash up. Dinner will be ready soon."

Genma hurriedly replied, "Yes, I'll be right there."

"Today really was a good day, Lord Ran'ya."

After watching her son head to his room, Ritsuka said to her husband, "Looks like he should be able to adjust."

Yu Fenglan chuckled. "There's no doubt about that. Besides, Senior Sakumo will be looking after him."

"Besides, Genma is the genius we brought into the world."

Ritsuka's eyes curved in a smile. "That's true!"

"I really didn't expect Senior Sakumo to be his Jonin leader. We won't have to worry so much now."

In his room, Genma could just barely hear his parents talking. He sighed inwardly.

Parents would always worry about their children.

But he wouldn't let them down.

After taking off his gear and finding some clothes, Genma went into the bathroom to wash away his fatigue.

By the time he'd dried his hair and reached the dining room, the dishes were already laid out.

"Well, congratulations on becoming a real ninja. From today on, Genma, you're a man who can stand on his own."

Yu Fenglan handed Genma a short sword. "Your mother and I got this for you."

"Now that you've taken Senior Sakumo as your teacher, you can't go without a good short sword, can you?"

"Of course, it's not as good as Senior Sakumo's, but it has a little Chakra Metal in it, so chakra can flow along the blade more easily."

Ninja tools made with Chakra Metal were expensive.

Genma was touched. He reached out and accepted it at once. "Dad, Mom, thank you!"

Yu Fenglan raised his eyebrows. "What do you think? Give it a name."

"Or should I name it for you?"

Genma hurriedly replied, "I'll name it myself."

"How about... Ranga!"

"What do you think?"

Yu Fenglan beamed and gave him a thumbs-up.

Seeing this, Ritsuka quickly called out, "All right, sit down and eat. It's going to get cold."

Genma immediately put the short sword away, then enjoyed a warm dinner.

Meanwhile...

Elsewhere, Tsunade had taken Shizune out to eat.

Of course, Tsunade would never admit that she just wanted to have a little drink.

As she listened to Shizune describe Genma's battle with Hatake Sakumo that morning, Tsunade was secretly astonished. "Has that brat already gotten this far with Wood Release?"

"If he really can master the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai this way, then maybe one day..."

Tsunade couldn't help thinking of her grandfather and her second granduncle, Senju Tobirama. Then she thought of her dead parents and younger brother, and her heart sank. "Don't you dare die, you little brat!"